Method and Apparatus for Distributing Software

1. A first waveguide system comprising: a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: receiving, from a second waveguide system, first electromagnetic waves via a transmission medium, wherein the first electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the first electromagnetic waves convey data associated with a software program, wherein the software program is received by the first waveguide system from the second waveguide system without being received directly from a network source server that originated the software program, wherein a hierarchical configuration of the first waveguide system and the second waveguide system is dynamically organized such that the second waveguide system is designated as a root node, for distribution of the software program, for a group of elements comprising the first waveguide system; and adjusting the operations at the first waveguide system utilizing the software program.

2. The first waveguide system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting, to a third waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves via the transmission medium, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without requiring the electrical return path, and wherein the second electromagnetic waves convey the data; and providing a digital signature to the data being transmitted to the third waveguide system, wherein the digital signature indicates that the first waveguide system has received the software program.

3. The first waveguide system of claim 2 , wherein the software program comprises a software program update associated with an existing software program at the first waveguide system, wherein the data received from the second waveguide system includes another digital signature indicating that the second waveguide system received the software program update.

4. The first waveguide system of claim 2 , wherein the first waveguide system is an adjacent node to the second waveguide system and to the third waveguide system, and wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system comprises adjusting an operating system of the first waveguide system according to the software program.

5. The first waveguide system of claim 2 , wherein the group of elements further comprises the third waveguide system.

6. The first waveguide system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: determining an applicability of the software program to the operations of the first waveguide system, wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system is responsive to a determination that the software program is applicable to the operations of the first waveguide system.

7. The first waveguide system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting, to the second waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves via the transmission medium, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without requiring the electrical return path, and wherein the second electromagnetic waves convey an update request, wherein the receiving of the software program is responsive to the transmitting of the update request.

8. The first waveguide system of claim 1 , wherein the first waveguide system and the second waveguide system are adjacent nodes in a wired network comprising power lines that are the transmission medium, and wherein the second waveguide system receives the data from the network source server that originated the software program.

9. A method comprising: dynamically organizing a hierarchical configuration of a first waveguide system and a second waveguide system such that the second waveguide system is designated as a root node, for distribution of a first software program, for a group of elements comprising the first waveguide system; authenticating, by the first waveguide system, the second waveguide system according to authentication information received from the second waveguide system; responsive to an authentication of the second waveguide system, receiving, by the first waveguide system from the second waveguide system, the first software program; adjusting operations at the first waveguide system according to the first software program; providing, by the first waveguide system, a digital signature to the first software program to generate an adjusted software program, wherein the digital signature indicates that the first waveguide system has received the first software program; and transmitting, to a third waveguide system, the adjusted software program.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first, second and third waveguide systems transmit and receive electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, and wherein the authentication information, the first software program and the adjusted software program are conveyed via the electromagnetic waves.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first waveguide system is an adjacent node to the second and third waveguide systems, and wherein the method further comprises: authenticating, by the first waveguide system, a fourth waveguide system according to other authentication information received from the fourth waveguide system; responsive to another authentication of the fourth waveguide system, receiving, by the first waveguide system from the fourth waveguide system, a second software program; and comparing the second software program with the first software program; wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system according to the first software program is responsive to a determination that the first software program is a later version than the second software program.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: transmitting, by the first waveguide system, an update request to the group of elements including a fourth waveguide system, wherein the transmitting of the update request does not include providing the update request to a network source server that originated the first software program; and determining, by the first waveguide system, a latest version of the first software program being stored by each element of the group of elements, wherein the receiving of the first software program is responsive to a determination that the second waveguide system has a latest version of the first software program.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first software program comprises a software program update associated with an existing software program at the first waveguide system, and wherein the method further comprises determining an applicability of the software program update to the operations of the first waveguide system, wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system is responsive to a determination that the software program update is applicable to the operations of the first waveguide system, and wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system comprises adjusting an operating system of the first waveguide system according to the first software program.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: identifying a plurality of waveguide systems from a plurality of digital signatures included with the first software program, wherein the plurality of digital signatures includes a second digital signature of the second waveguide system; and comparing the plurality of waveguide systems to expected waveguide systems along an expected communication path of the first software program, wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system according to the first software program is responsive to a determination that the plurality of waveguide systems matches the expected waveguide systems along the expected communication path.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first waveguide system is a child of the second waveguide system and the third waveguide system is a child of the first waveguide system.

16. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: monitoring, by the first waveguide system, for an expiration of an existing software program operating at the first waveguide system; and responsive to a determination that the existing software program has expired, transmitting, by the first waveguide system, an update request to the second waveguide system, wherein the transmitting of the update request does not include providing the update request to a network source server that originated the first software program, wherein the receiving of the first software program is responsive to the update request.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a first waveguide system, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: dynamically organizing a hierarchical configuration of the first waveguide system, a second waveguide system and a third waveguide system such that the second waveguide system is designated as a root node, for distribution of a first software program, for a group of elements comprising the first and third waveguide systems; monitoring for an expiration of an existing software program operating at the first waveguide system; responsive to a determination that the existing software program has expired, transmitting an update request to each of the second and third waveguide systems; responsive to the update request transmitted to each of the second and third waveguide systems, receiving the first software program from the second waveguide system and a second software program from the third waveguide system; comparing the first and second software programs; and responsive to a determination that the first software program is a later version than the second software program, adjusting operations at the first waveguide system according to the first software program, wherein the transmitting of the update request to each of the second and third waveguide systems does not include providing the update request to a network source server that originated the first software program.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system comprises adjusting a communications protocol implemented by the first waveguide system, and wherein the operations further comprise: providing a digital signature to the first software program to generate an adjusted software program, wherein the digital signature indicates that the first waveguide system has received the first software program; and transmitting, to a fourth waveguide system, the adjusted software program.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise: authenticating the fourth waveguide system according to authentication information received from the fourth waveguide system, wherein the transmitting of the adjusted software program is responsive to the authenticating.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the first waveguide system transmits and receives electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium, and wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path.